


Hot Coffee

by Tamwyxn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU No Magic, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coffee Shops, High School AU, Hot Topic Employee Sirius, M/M, Modern AU, Modern Era, Nonmagic AU, Starbucks Employee Remus, coffee shop AU, no magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-17 08:46:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9314147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamwyxn/pseuds/Tamwyxn
Summary: Based on a tumblr AU prompt I saw. In which Sirius Black is an eighteen year old who works at the local mall's Hot Topic, and Remus Lupin is a seventeen year old early-grad who works at the Starbucks across the hall. The title is a twist on Hot Topic and Starbucks Coffee.





	1. Seeing Stars

Sirius Orion Black was not one to stare at people. Sure, he found people attractive at a glance, but he never blatantly  **stared**  at them. He would be damned if he let someone know he thought they were attractive; that just took all the fun out of flirting. That's why when Sirius Black found himself staring at a customer, he wasn't sure what to do. The boy was a mess of fluffy brown hair and freckles that nearly overtook his other features. His nose sloped into a small point and there were several thin scars littered across his nose, cheek, and what was exposed of his neck. He wore a large, ratty, olive green cardigan that clashed with the bright green apron that he held in one hand, and jeans that seemed stained with dark splashes of liquid. The boy's eyes, however, were the most interesting part about him. They were large and hazel, with long dark eyelashes that framed them, and they were... staring right at him.

"Can I help you?" The boy asked quizzically, and Sirius quickly realized that he had caught him staring, and it wasn't the kind of staring that you could pass off as an accident. Sirius blinked quickly and answered before the silence became awkward.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He said with a grin, trying his best to get over the previous embarrassment by casually flirting. The boy merely cocked an eyebrow, much to Sirius's dismay, and shrugged. "I was thinking about buying some stuff, but my break is actually almost over." He stated briefly. His large hazel eyes looked away from Sirius for a moment, down at the apron in his hand, before he looking back up. "Uh, thanks anyways though," he mumbled awkwardly. Before Sirius could get his wits together and reply, the mess of freckles was out the store doors, pulling the apron with the Starbucks logo over his head as he crossed the hall to the coffee shop less than twelve feet away.

"What was _that_ _?"_   came a voice behind Sirius. The teenager turned around with a long sigh to his coworker Marlene McKinnon, who's bleach blonde hair was pulled into a low ponytail, as she pulled on a lanyard that stated  **Hot Topic** in large bold letters with  **Assistant** written in smaller letters below it. "Please tell me that wasn't you  _actually_ attempting to flirt." She deadpanned, almost looking as exasperated as Sirius felt. "That was really disappointing on my part." he sighed, resting his head on one hand as he looked around the empty store. It was half past seven, which meant an hour and a half to close, and half an hour until his break. "I don't even know what came over me!" He exclaimed suddenly, throwing both hands into the air. "He wasn't even that hot! I couldn't even look away before he noticed, and I was staring at him for well over three minutes before that sorry excuse for a conversation happened." He groaned and rubbed his eyes in a mix of exhaustion and exasperation. 

Marlene pursed her lips in thought, looking up as though she was trying to remember something. "I don't know. He was really cute, in a puppy-kind of way." She tried to sound helpful, but it just made Sirius let out another groan. "I'm never going to see him again, and I don't know if I should be relieved or severely disappointed." He sighed. It had been months since he last had any action, and even longer since he had been in any kind of relationship. "Doesn't he work at the Starbucks across the hall?" Marlene pointed out helpfully. Sirius perked up suddenly, remembering the green apron that the boy had been carrying in one hand. "You're right!" He grinned with all his teeth, almost resembling a dog. "I'll have to go during my break and redeem myself." 

Marlene laughed at that. "Or make more of a fool of yourself." 

Sirius rolled his eyes, but straightened up when a pair of customers came into the retail store. He smiled with his mouth closed this time, less enthusiastic, however still polite. "Hi, can I help you with anything?"

* * *

 Remus John Lupin was not having the best day. He had slept in past his alarms, made it into work ten minutes late, and was working a double shift with only a 30 minute break. This meant, that after ten and a half hours of working and an hour and a half to go, Remus was exhausted. It didn't help that he had spent ten minutes of his break browsing Hot Topic, which turned out to be a total waste because the cashier was staring at his scars the whole time and made it impossible for Remus to focus. The freckled barista ran a hand down his face as he thought back to the experience.

The cashier was hot, it was undeniable. His long black hair had been tied up in a messy bun, he had piercings on his nose and eyebrow, his cheekbones were incredibly high and aristocratic, and his eyes were such an intense silver-blue that it was impossible for Remus  _not_  to notice the guy staring at him. This, of course, pissed Remus off to no end. The cashier couldn't have been much older than him, and if Remus had known better, he almost would have thought the black haired boy was checking him out. Remus knew this wasn't the case though. The scars that littered his face, neck, and arms were like neon signs on his body, and it was all anyone could ever notice. He was lucky enough that he had gotten the job as a barista at Starbucks. 

So, Remus's immediate response was to flee. It didn't help that the cashier had decided to talk to him, Remus thought the other man would have at least had  _some_ shame after staring at him for so long. So, the barista had been short, brief, and as cold as he could manage to be towards someone so ridiculously attractive.  _What a waste,_ Remus thought briefly. 

He was snapped back from his thoughts when his manager called for him to take the register and take the orders of the customers that had begun to fill the line. "Who comes in for coffee at 8:30 at night," he heard his coworker-slash-friend Lily Evans mumble right behind him. He stifled a laugh, wondering the same thing as he rung up a woman who had ordered a double shot espresso. The next few customers flew by, and before he knew it, the line was gone and the only thing left to do was make drinks. Remus left the till quickly to help finish up some of the orders, and let out a sigh of relief when the last one was finished. 

"I swear, if anyone else comes in this late..." Remus groaned. He didn't have to finish his sentence; everyone else was thinking the same thing.  _Murder_.

Remus heard the tell-tale ring of the bell, meaning a customer had come through the coffee shop's doors. He didn't bother to hide his groan before he turned around, and the sight just made him want to groan even louder. "Can I take your order." He grumbled, not making eye contact with the cashier that had stared him down at Hot Topic. Remus knew if he looked up, his face would probably turn a brighter shade of red than their winter cups. 

Remus could hear the grin in the other man's voice as he spoke. "I'll just have a cinnamon chai latte, a chocolate cake pop, and your name." he purred smoothly. Remus expertly typed in the order, and paused when his mind comprehended the last phrase of the other man's order. He glanced up quickly, his confusion written clearly all over his face. "My name?" he asked, genuinely confused. The black haired man smiled, this time less cocky and a little... shy? "Yeah. You don't have a name tag, and I was wondering what your name was." 

The freckled barista felt his face flush red. He forced himself to look down as he took a cup for the man's order and wrote the details on it. "Remus." he mumbled quietly. 

"What?"

Remus rolled his eyes in a mixture of annoyance and another feeling he couldn't quite describe. The only way he could explain it was by the fluttering in his stomach and the warmth he still felt in his cheeks. "Remus. My name, its Remus." he repeated slightly louder, still not looking at the other man. He heard the grin return in the other man's response. "It's nice to meet you, Remus." He didn't seem to notice that the barista had deliberately decided not to ask for his name, neither for the order or for the drink. 

When Remus finished making the other man's drink, he handed him the cake pop first, followed by the cup, which had  **Emo Hot Topic Cashier** written on the side of it. "Have a nice night." Remus dismissed the other man, turning around before he could be confronted about the name he had chosen for the customer. Because he had turned away, Remus missed the flush of red that spread to Sirius's cheeks. However, he didn't miss the soft grumble of "I'm not emo, I'm punk," before the other man left. Remus let himself smile slightly. Maybe, just maybe, the hot cashier was actually flirting with him.


	2. Siriusly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update?? Rare

Since his first encounter with the mess of fluff and freckles named "Remus," Sirius had broken every rule in his punk rule book (which, yes, very much existed and no matter what Marlene said, he did  _not_ make it himself). He had fallen into the mainstream trend called Starbucks and had visited the coffee shop every day for two weeks in order to see the barista. While his wallet had become starvingly empty due to the overly priced caffeinated products, Sirius had to admit he had grown to like the coffee chain. Although, most of the satisfaction he felt towards the shop was due to the very special barista he had become ridiculously smitten by.

Remus Lupin was all hesitant smiles and blushes that had him facing the ground in embarrassment. He was teasing, toothy grins that displayed sharp canines and a slight gap between his two front teeth. When he smiled, Sirius had noticed, his eyes crinkled at the edges and he looked away as though to hide his feelings. He had a scar that split his top lip and stretched whenever he grinned. He was a mess of curly, tawny hair and chocolate brown eyes that lit up whenever Sirius entered the cafe, although Sirius could tell he tried to hide it quickly. He had freckles splashed like paint across his cheeks and nose. His hands were slim and quick when they put together drinks, however they trembled slightly when they had nothing to do. There was a series of tattoos across his left forearm that mimicked the moon waning and waxing. Whenever Sirius spoke to him, he noticed the barista had a slight lisp at the end of his words, probably due to the small gap between his front teeth. Sirius also noticed that his very special barista could not spell for shit.

At first, Sirius had thought it was a joke when Remus eventually asked for his name during one of their many "coincidental" meetings at the coffee shop, and quickly proceeded to spell it "serus." The next day, the cup read "Cereos" and then "Ciraus." The next couple of weeks had consisted of several poor attempts at his name, one of which had actually said "Severus" and made Sirius bristle for the rest of the day. Finally, on day 16 of their daily meetings, Sirius snapped at the spelling "cheerios." 

"Are you serious?" He exasperated, shoving the cup of coffee into Remus's hands. The barista gave him a weird look in turn. "Well, no. I'm Remus. I thought you were Sirius," he said with a full-toothed grin. Sirius' face remained blank, although he had to force himself not to laugh at the overused joke. 

"Did I make your drink wrong?" Remus finally said after several moments of silence lapsed. His large, chocolate brown eyes showed honest confusion as he looked at the cup. 

"Sirius!" The black haired teen exclaimed. "My name is Sirius! Do you really not know how to spell it?" 

Remus blinked rapidly at the outburst and let out a bark of laughter instead of answering. Sirius crossed his arms and frowned. "What."

"I thought you were  _joking_." Remus forced out between giggles. Giggles! The barista wasn't just laughing, he was giggling! Sirius couldn't help but grin at the adorable display. "No, my name is actually Sirius." he tried to say between Remus' snickering. "Like the constellation."

By that point, Remus had one hand covering the bottom of his red face and he forced himself to stop laughing. His shoulders still shook slightly with laughter, but he nodded to show that he had heard him. "Sorry," he smiled. "I wasn't expecting that at all. I guess Cheerios was too much?" 

"I just wasn't sure if you honestly didn't know what I was saying or if you were just messing with me." Sirius replied. He tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear, a nervous habit that he once had under control, but had regained since meeting Remus.

"Remus!" They both turned towards the voice that called from behind the counter. "Are you going to flirt all night, or help me?" Lily said with crossed arms and a cocked eyebrow. Remus's pale skin flushed red and he quickly turned away from Sirius. "Sorry Lils, I'm coming." He mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. He turned back towards Sirius, one hand rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry, I have to get back to work." He apologized shyly, void of the confidence and sarcasm that had been present before. He seemed to hesitate, as though he wanted to continue but was too afraid.

"What time do you-"

"I get off at nine-" 

They both said at the same time. Sirius felt heat flush his face at the same time as Remus' face turned red for the second time that night. "So, nine?" Sirius asked with a smile that he tried to convince himself wasn't shy. He could feel the hesitation on his face, however, and knew he was failing.

Luckily, Remus didn't seem to notice. He nodded enthusiastically and the large toothy grin returned. "Yeah. Do you wanna, like, see a movie or something?" He asked, the shyness in his question contradicting the huge grin on his face. "Yeah," Sirius felt himself grin as well. "Yeah, that sounds nice. I'll just meet you outside the mall after work?" He clarified. Remus nodded quickly as Lily sent him a glare that told him to hurry. "Yes, yeah that's perfect. I'll see you at nine." 

It took all Sirius had not to lean in and kiss Remus right there, but he figured the barista would end up getting in trouble at the display of affection so he decided to let it wait.  _We've got all night, after all_ ,he thought.

* * *

 

An hour and a half later, Sirius parked his bike outside of the mall and stood next to it to wait for Remus. He had changed from his work clothes into dark jeans, black boots, and an old My Chemical Romance shirt that was worn from overuse. His signature leather jacket was slung over his shoulder and his shoulder-length hair was perfectly styled- after half an hour in the bathroom trying to fix it. Sirius checked his phone quickly to see the time; 9:15. He was a little late, but Remus hadn't come outside yet so Sirius figured he was just held up cleaning. Less than a minute later, Remus stumbled out of the mall's entrance with his jacket half on and his hair sticking up all over the place. Sirius couldn't help but grin at the sight. Remus wore an large worn sweater that hung off his thin frame and skinny jeans that were torn at the knees. The minute their eyes met, Remus' characteristic, gap-toothed grin was on his face.

"You're laate." Sirius singsonged. He stepped forward a little to meet Remus. "Sorry," the other man grinned sheepishly. "Lily tried to give me "the talk" before I left." His face flushed pink, whether it was from the cold or from the talk Lily had with him, Sirius couldn't tell. He just nudged Remus gently with his shoulder and shrugged. "That's alright, I was a little late getting here anyways." he grinned sheepishly. "Ready to go?" he asked, gesturing to his bike. 

Remus glanced at the motorcycle, only just seeming to notice that it was Sirius'. His face visibly paled at the sight. "O-oh. You ride a bike." He stated more than asked. Sirius grinned proudly, oblivious to Remus' discomfort. "Yeah. I got her last year when I graduated." He patted the seat. "Are you gonna get on?"

The barista shuffled slightly, shoving his hands in his pockets. He pressed his lips together until they were white from the pressure and nodded quickly. "Okay. Just please don't go to fast." He whispered. Sirius reached forward and squeezed his hand, noticing his hesitation more than his discomfort at the idea of riding his motorcycle. "I'm a safe driver mate, don't worry." He swung his leg over the side and pulled on his helmet, handing Remus a spare that he brought with him. The other man put the helmet on quickly and strapped it tight before getting on, immediately wrapping his arms around Sirius' torso and holding tight. "You ready?" Sirius asked as he started the bike. He felt Remus nod against his shoulder and clenched the gas.

The ride to the theater was less than ten minutes, but it seemed to feel like forever to Remus. His eyes were shut tight with fear and his body was pressed against Sirius' as if he would disappear if he let go. "C-can you slow down a little?" He whispered at one point, and although Sirius didn't acknowledge that he heard him, he felt the motorcycle slow down a few notches. The minute they parked in front of the theater, Remus jumped off and took off his helmet.

"Don't like bikes?" Sirius asked, one eyebrow raised as he took off his helmet. Remus simply shrugged, trying to gather his bearings. "I'm not much of a fan of vehicles in general." He mumbled. He ran his fingers through his hair nervously and let out a shaky laugh. "Come on. We don't want to miss the movie."

They decided to watch a cheesy rom-com that had them both giggling and leaning into each other. Sirius found himself having more fun than he had ever had on any date he could remember. Halfway through the movie, Sirius turned to look at Remus only to find him staring right back. Despite the dark lighting of the theater, the blush that immediately flushed Remus' face was obvious and he quickly turned back towards the movie. Sirius grinned. The feeling he got with Remus, even after only knowing him for just two weeks, was overwhelming. He nudged Remus's shoulder with his own in an attempt to get his attention, but the other man seemed adamant about looking forward. His hand tapped nervously against the arm rest.

"Remus." Sirius whispered, nudging him again. Remus finally turned towards him, his adam's apple moving as he swallowed hard. Before Sirius could overthink his decision, he reached one hand up and gently grasped the side of Remus's face and pulled it closer to his own until they were merely a breath apart. Sirius felt Remus gasp softly, the air tickling his lips gently. "Can I kiss you?" He whispered as softly as he could. Instead of replying, Remus leaned forward and pressed his lips to his. Sirius stifled a gasp of surprise at the sudden movement.

The kiss was soft and Remus was hesitant, but it was one of the best kisses Sirius had ever had. Their lips moved together in unison and Remus reached up and tangled his hands in Sirius' dark hair, which made him let out a quiet moan. Just as the kiss began to get more heated, a cough was heard behind them. They pulled back simultaneously, Sirius grinning and Remus blushing furiously, a matching grin on his face. Sirius pressed one more quick kiss onto Remus' lips before holding his hand and turning back to the movie, shifting slightly closer to the other man so their sides were pressed together.

 The two were both equally distracted by each other for the rest of the film. Remus couldn't stop thinking about the way Sirius' thumb ran across the back of his hand, and Sirius couldn't stop thinking about the way Remus' shoulder was pressed up against his. By the end of the movie, neither one could remember what had happened during the second half of the film, and they were quick to leave. Remus shivered slightly at the chilled air outside of the theater and grasped Sirius' hand in his own as they walked briskly to the motorcycle. "My flat isn't too far from here." Remus mumbled quietly as they reached the bike, glancing at Sirius. "We could have some, uh, tea, if you want." He tried to convince himself that the heat he felt flushing to his face was because of the cold.

Sirius's grin was so big, it almost hurt his face. He'd have to get used to all of this smiling, at the rate this night was going. "Yeah, I'd love some tea." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops nobody beta'd this so if it sucks I'm sorry


End file.
